Alert archive / Virginia / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 2002
Severe Thunderstorm Warning 22, NWS Baltimore/Washington
NWS Baltimore/Washington issued this severe thunderstorm warning at May 9, 2002, 5:39 PM EDT for Spotsylvania County, Virginia. It was in force for 51 min. 1 report came from inside the area while it was in force.
The area
The counties it named, with what was reported inside it.
The facts
- Issued
- May 9, 2002, 5:39 PM EDT (21:39 UTC)
- Expired
- May 9, 2002, 6:30 PM EDT
- In force
- 51 min
- Issued by
- NWS Baltimore/Washington
- Area
- Counties, with a storm outline in the text
County Spotsylvania County, VA
The radar
The Sterling radar (KLWX), 89 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 21:41 UTC, the scan nearest the moment this went out.
Open the radar archive at this moment
The archived warnings, watches and discussions in force at that minute are drawn over the scan, this one among them.
What was reported inside it
| Time | Report | Where | Remark |
|---|---|---|---|
| May 9, 5:47 PM EDT | Thunderstorm Wind | Paytes, VA | Trees were downed in Porters. |
NCEI Storm Data entries that began inside the alert's area while it was in force. Before 2003 the local storm report archive is thin, so this is the record of what happened rather than what was phoned in.
The watch it was issued in
The SPC watch in force over the same counties when this warning went out.
| Issued | Product | Office | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|
| May 9, 2:30 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Watch | SPC | 5 hr |
The nearest sounding before it
Roanoke, VA (KRNK), launched 12:00Z, 9.7 hours before the alert went out and 196 km from the middle of its area. This is the routine balloon launch nearest before it, the air the forecaster had in hand, not a measurement taken for the alert.
- Mixed-layer CAPE
- 139 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -17 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 537 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 38 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 96 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 128 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.0
What forecasters said that day
The local office's own words before this severe thunderstorm warning went out, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.
NWS Baltimore/Washington wrote its last area forecast discussion before this severe thunderstorm warning went out at May 9, 3:00 PM EDT, 2 hours 39 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, May 9, 3:00 PM EDT, 2 hours 39 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BALTIMORE/WASHINGTON 300 PM EDT THU MAY 9 2002 .SHORT TERM /TDA-TNGT-TMRW/...TALE OF TWO AIR MASSES TDA. WRN SXNS CLRD OUT...AND NOW QUITE UNSTBL. E OF BLU RDG IN THE MARINE AMS...CIGS BLO 010 VSBY 3-5SM BR. QSTN IS HOW MUCH OF THE STBL AMS WL BE GOBBLED UP AS CNVCNTN MVS EWD. SUSPECT A LN IN TSRA IMMEDIATELY E OF PREFRNTL TROF. WND GUSTS BIGGEST CONCERN. EXTRAPOLATION WUD SGGST TSRA E OF BLURDG BY 00Z TNGT...AND CLR AREA BFR MIDNGT. AREAL CVRG WUD LEAN TWD CHC POPS. GOOD DRYING THRAFTR...W/ CAA/NW FLW REIGNING. MOSUN/CLR. FWC/MAV SIMLR AND ACCEPTED. HTS LONG TERM... THIS WILL BE BRIEF DUE TO SVR WX. HI PRES MOVES EAST OF FA BY SATURDAY AFTERNOON. AS HIGH SHIFTS E THE NEXT SYSTEM AND FNT WL MOV IN FORM THE WEST. CHC OF TRW LATE SAT THROUGH MON. LOW PRES WL SHIFT EAST OF REGION MONDAY NIGH AND WL TAKE PCPN WITH IT. TUE THROUGH THUR SURFACE HIGH PRESSURE WL ZONAL FLOW A LOFT FOR QUIET WX. OVERALL ONLY MINOR CHANGES. ND .LWX...NONE.
In the hours before
Special weather statement, May 9, 3:39 PM EDT, 2 hours before
DCZ001-MDZ002>005-009-010-VAZ021-025>031-036>042-050>056-WVZ048>055- 092145- SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BALTIMORE/WASHINGTON 339 PM EDT THU MAY 9 2002 ...SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH IN EFFECT UNTIL 7 PM FOR MUCH OF NORTHERN VIRGINIA....WESTERN AND CENTRAL MARYLAND...EASTERN WEST VIRGINIA AND THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA. A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH IS IN EFFECT UNTIL 7 PM FOR AREAS WEST OF A LINE FROM CARROLL COUNTY MARYLAND THROUGH THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA TO THE FREDERICKSBURG AREA. AT 330 PM DOPPLER WEATHER RADAR INDICATED SHOWERS ACROSS CENTRAL MARYLAND IN AN AREA NORTHWEST OF WASHINGTON DC TO JUST WEST OF BALTIMORE. THESE SHOWERS ARE MOVING NORTHEASTWARD AND HAVE BEEN WEAKENING OVER THE PAST COUPLE OF HOURS. AN AREA OF SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WAS MOVING INTO WESTERN MARYLAND...EASTERN WEST VIRGINIA AND NORTHWEST AND WEST CENTRAL VIRGINIA. THE STRONGEST THUNDERSTORMS EXTENDED FROM WESTERN ROCKINGHAM INTO WESTERN AUGUSTA COUNTY. THESE THUNDERSTORMS WERE MOVING EAST AT 35 MPH AND WILL AFFECT STAUNTON AND HARRISONBURG DURING THE NEXT HOUR. THESE THUNDERSTORMS COULD CONTAIN HEAVY RAIN...LIGHTNING...GUSTY WINDS AND POSSIBLY SMALL HAIL. STAY TUNED TO TV...RADIO AND NOAA WEATHER RADIO FOR UPDATES THROUGHOUT THE AFTERNOON AND EVENING. DMW/JLW
Special weather statement, May 9, 4:09 PM EDT, 1 hour 30 minutes before
MDZ003-VAZ025>031-036>042-050-051-WVZ051>053-092145- SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BALTIMORE/WASHINGTON 409 PM EDT THU MAY 9 2002 ...SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH IN EFFECT UNTIL 7 PM FOR MUCH OF NORTHERN VIRGINIA....WESTERN AND CENTRAL MARYLAND...EASTERN WEST VIRGINIA AND THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA. A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH IS IN EFFECT UNTIL 7 PM FOR AREAS WEST OF A LINE FROM CARROLL COUNTY MARYLAND THROUGH THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA TO THE FREDERICKSBURG AREA. AT 405 PM DOPPLER WEATHER RADAR INDICATED A LINE OF STRONG THUNDERSTORMS EXTENDING FROM HAMPSHIRE COUNTY WEST VIRGINIA SOUTHWARD THROUGH HARRISONBURG VIRGINIA TO STAUNTON VIRGINIA. THESE STORMS ARE MOVING EAST AT 35 MPH. THESE STORMS HAVE BEEN INTENSIFYING DURING THE PAST HOUR AND ARE CAPABLE OF PRODUCING HAIL...WIND GUSTS TO 50 MPH...HEAVY RAIN AND LIGHTNING. IF THREATENING WEATHER APPROACHES...SEEK SHELTER. STAY TUNED TO TV...RADIO AND NOAA WEATHER RADIO FOR UPDATES. DMW/JLS
Special weather statement, May 9, 5:11 PM EDT, 28 minutes before
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</html>Local storm report, May 9, 5:33 PM EDT, 6 minutes before
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</html>The office that day
Everything else NWS Baltimore/Washington issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 9, 4:44 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | LWX | Frederick, Warren, City of Winchester | 31 min |
| May 9, 4:53 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | LWX | Albemarle, Greene, City of Charlottesville | 52 min |
| May 9, 7:38 PM EDT | Special Marine Warning | LWX | 82 min |
Nearby
Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Virginia, 2002Every severe thunderstorm warning in 2002
Sources
The product and its follow-ups from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service and Storm Prediction Center text; verification from NCEI's Storm Data; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.